Jay Goldberg is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, receiving his degree magna cum laude.

He was acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, Special Attorney and Counselor to the United States Department of Justice, Washington D.C., an Assistant District Attorney, New York County and Special Assistant to James B. Donovan, an American hero, who effected the transfer of Russian spy Rudolph Abel for Francis Gary Powers (Bridge of Spies, with Tom Hanks).

He has been a past lecturer on trial advocacy at the Harvard Law School.

Legal Aide to James B. Donovan- hero- Bridge of Spies starring Tom Hanks. At critical moments relating to the preparation of the transfer of a captured Russian spy for one of our own which was accomplished by agreements between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, Mr. Goldberg was at Mr. Donovan's side.

On September 22, 2011, a tribute was paid to him on the recommendation of a Member of Congress for his dedication and study of the principles of the Constitution. It may be found at: c-spanvideo.org/program/301705-1 (at 45:34).

In reviewing the 2009 book, Justice Arthur Lonschein, Justice of the Supreme Court, NYS wrote: Jay Goldberg "holds the distinction of being one of the most skilled, if not the most skilled, trial lawyers in the United States." (Review on Amazon
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Judge Jack Weinstein (E.D.N.Y.) wrote that he "believes [the 2009 book] will prove to be invaluable to both the Bench and Bar and it is the next best thing to seeing you in action." (Note to author.)

Richard Levitt, a prominent lawyer in reviewing one of Goldberg's books, wrote that Mr. Goldberg is "the finest litigator of this or any other generation." (Review on Amazon)

Frederick Hafetz, former Chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office S.D.N.Y., on the eve of his award from the Criminal Bar Association, wrote: "I consider you to have the best killer trial skills I have ever seen in my 47 years of practice, and I have worked with the best, courtroom presence, capturing the jury's attention through devastating cross and summations that have jurors on the edge of their seats."

Judd Burstein, a premier NYC trial attorney, wrote: "I often tell people who compliment me on my trial skills that my mentor, Jay Goldberg, was a far better lawyer that I am. I talk about the fact that he commanded the courtroom like no other, and taught me to analyze a case without any preconceptions - yet always knowing that there was, in the end, a "silver bullet" to be found. You also would not believe how many of his expressions - such as "there are no new cases, only new faces" -that I have pilfered from him. I am not alone in this assessment. Through a very bizarre set of circumstances that I am prohibited from discussing due to confidentiality obligations, Donald [Trump] inserted himself into a dispute on behalf of the opposing party and I had some interactions with him. Out of the blue and I am directly quoting, Trump said the following to my opposing attorney: "Judd used to work with this guy Jay Goldberg. He was the best lawyer that I ever saw, he won cases anybody else would have lost and I used to say: 'How the hell did he do that?'"

In a poll conducted by a New York magazine, selected lawyers and judges were asked to answer this question: "Who Are Manhattan's Most Powerful, Talented, and Fearsome Prosecutors and Defenders?" The survey resulted in this statement:

"Goldberg is a lawyer's lawyer, a defense attorney whom colleagues and prosecutors alike cite as exemplary of the mix of qualities that make a lawyer effective."